A designer and sculptor, Paul Evans was a wild card of late 20th century modernism. A leading light of the American Studio Furniture movement, Evans’s sideboards, credenzas, coffee tables and other work manifests a singular aesthetic sense, as well as a seemingly contradictory appreciation for both folk art forms and for new materials and technologies.
Evans’s primary material was metal, not wood, which was favored by his fellow studio designers, and Bucks County, Pennsylvania, neighbors George Nakashima and Phillip Lloyd Powell. He trained in metallurgy and studied at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, the famed crucible of modern design and art in suburban Detroit. For a time early in his career, Evans also worked at Sturbridge Village, a historical “living museum” in Massachusetts, where he gave demonstrations as a costumed silversmith.
Evans’s earliest work unites these influences. The pieces that made his reputation are known as “sculpted-front” cabinets: wood cases faced with box-like high-relief patinated steel mounts laid out in a grid pattern. Each mount contains a metal emblem, or glyph, and the effect is that of a brawny quilt.
Evans’s later work falls into three distinct style groups. His sculpted-bronze pieces, begun in the mid-1960s, show Evans at his most expressive. He employed a technique in which resin is hand-shaped, and later sprayed with a metal coating, allowing for artistic nuance in the making of chairs, tables and case pieces. Later in the decade and into the 1970s, Evans produced his Argente series for celebrated manufacturer Directional (a brand known to vintage mid-century modern furniture collectors everywhere): consoles and other furniture forms that feature aluminum and pigment-infused metal surfaces welded into abstract organic forms and patterns.
Last, Evans's Cityscape design series — a milestone in the history of brutalist design — meshed perfectly with the sleek, “high tech” sensibility of the later ’70s. Evans constructed boxy forms and faced them with irregular mosaic patterns that mixed rectangular plaques of chromed steel, bronze or burlwood veneer. These, like all of Paul Evans’s designs, are both useful and eye-catching. But their appeal has another, more visceral quality: these pieces have clearly been touched by an artist’s hand.
Find a collection of authentic Paul Evans furniture today on 1stDibs.
Brutalist Metal Patchwork Box with Insert Paul Evans
By Paul Evans
Located in Atlanta, GA
A cube form desktop box covered with patchwork copper by American artist and designer Paul Evans (1931-1987). The lidded box has a plastic insert box and was made as an ice box or a ...
Metal
Mixed Metal Patchwork Box by Paul Evans
By Paul Evans
Located in Oxnard, CA
Here is a brutalist, mixed metal keep-sake box by Paul Evans, circa 1970s. It is constructed of patinated copper panels and lined with cork. The design features splashes of solder a...
Copper
Paul Evans Studio Patchwork Hinged Box 1965
By Paul Evans
Located in Chicago, IL
Paul Evans Studio Patchwork Hinged Box 1965 Patinated copper with applied bronze and pewter throughout, Interior with original "Blue Antique" finish Dimensions: 7 h × 16 w × 8 d in P...
Brass, Bronze, Copper, Pewter
$9,500
H 6.13 in W 16.13 in D 8.13 in
Paul Evans Patchwork Studio Box, Copper Bronze Pewter, Signed, 1969
By Paul Evans
Located in New York, NY
Paul Evans Patchwork Studio Box, Copper Bronze Pewter, Signed, 1969. Large scale hinged patinated mixed metal textured box with painted red wood interior and lined with orange/yellow...
Bronze, Copper, Pewter
Brutalist Tin Wrapped Box
Located in San Diego, CA
Brutalist tin wrapped wooden box, circa 1970s. The piece was made in Mexico and is in very good vintage condition. #843
Metal
$16,500
H 22 in W 29.75 in D 29.75 in
Paul Evans 'PE-31' Patchwork Copper and Slate Cube Table for Directional, c 1967
By Paul Evans, Directional
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Stunning 'PE-31' patchwork copper table by Paul Evans for Directional, produced in circa 1967. The cube shaped form is fabricated from patinated pieces of copper, bronze, and pewter which have been welded and nailed in a patchwork style pattern resting on top of a patinated steel plinth base with casters. Works fantastic as a coffee or cocktail table, or as a large end or side table. The table sits on top of casters which makes it easy to move around and relocate. The top has been fitted with slate. The fusion of these exterior materials formulates an exemplary piece which would be a welcome addition to any connoisseur's collection or high-end interior designer project. We have the matching PE-32 bar cabinet and PE-17 floating wall console with PE-18 mirror (all with Patchwork Copper) if you would like to create a matching set. We also carry other Paul Evans designs, including Cityscape, Deep-Relief, Artisan, and Sculptured Metal Collections. Contact us for more information or see our other listings for more details. This Paul Evans patchwork copper cube table...
Slate, Bronze, Copper, Pewter
Paul Evans Style Cityscape Mixed Metal Patchwork Chest
By Paul Evans, Maitland Smith
Located in Houston, TX
Paul Evans style cityscape mixed metal patchwork chest. Handsome Paul Evans style cityscape mixed metal patchwork chest, box, coffer or document box. ...
Metal
Argente cube side table by Paul Evans
By Paul Evans
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Paul Evans model PE – 37 cube side table. Welded aluminum construction with etched patterns on oxidized and painted panels.. with an inset black slate top. Manufactured by Paul Evans...
Slate, Aluminum
$1,200
H 12.75 in W 21 in D 12 in
Multi Metal Brass and Copper Brutalist Style Hand made Hinged Box with Bun Feet
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Muti-Metal Hinged box of Brass and Copper. The piece is of the Brutalist Style and its hand Crafted qualities of welded or soldered pieces of Metal t...
Brass, Copper
Arenson Studio “Infinity” Brutalist Hammered Brass, Leather Box
By Arenson Studios
Located in Jensen Beach, FL
Hand-hammered copper box by Arenson Studios, West Palm Beach, FL, circa 1970s.
Copper
Guido Gambone Italian Modernist Foamy Glazed Ceramic Box with Grid Decoration
By Guido Gambone
Located in Palm Springs, CA
Foamy glazed lidded ceramic box with grid design created by Guido Gambone, circa 1950s. Box measures 3.5" by 6" by 4.5" and is signed Gambone with his donkey mark. In very good vin...
Ceramic
Bruno Gambone Ceramic Italian Modernist Design Covered Box Desk Set
By Bruno Gambone
Located in Palm Springs, CA
Ceramic covered box with target design and cup desk set created by Bruno Gambone of Florence, Italy. Box measures 5.5" in diameter by 3.5" in heigh...
Ceramic
Jon Sauer California Modernist Studio Exotic Woods Betel Nut Lidded Box
By Jon Sauer
Located in Palm Springs, CA
Zig zag patterned cocobolo, blackwood and betel nut lidded box created by Jon Sauer of San Francisco, California. Box measures 7" in height by 3" in diameter. In excellent vintage co...
Cocobolo
Paul Evans Brutalist Bronze Stalagmite Cocktail Coffee Table 1969 Signed
By Paul Evans
Located in Palm Springs, CA
Very rare sculptural brutalist Paul Evans stalagmite base coffee table signed PE 69. The bronze and resin composite base is in very good vintage condition showing its deep dark bronz...
Bronze
Kazuko Matthews Stoneware Post Modern California Studio Zig Zag Teapot with Lid
By Kazuko Matthews
Located in Palm Springs, CA
Flattened stoneware Post Modernist vase by California studio artist Kazuko Matthews. Teapot measures 16.5" by 9.5" by 3" and is signed Kazuko Matthews on the bottom. In very good vin...
Stoneware
Doyle Lane Blue Craquelure Tile Set in Hand Made Rosewood Box
By Doyle Lane
Located in Palm Springs, CA
Hand made rosewood box with crackled blue tile created by Doyle Lane. Box measures 2" high by 2 7/8" wide and 5" long. It is signed by the artists hand on verso, Doyle Lane as pict...
Ceramic, Wood
